The public organization "Rule of Law" received a video from a journalist from the newspaper "Favorite City. Odessa," according to which, during an open court hearing in the Primorsky District Court of Odessa on May 27, 2016, Judge Svetlana Nikitina groundlessly prohibited video recording of the proceedings.
When the journalist inquired about the reason for the video recording ban, he received no clear answer citing specific legal provisions and was "sent" by the judge to consult a lawyer. When asked specifically what law prohibits the journalist from filming, the judge replied that her personal law prohibits it.
The journalist's insistence on being present in the courtroom and filming on entirely legal grounds prompted the judge to urgently end the hearing.
Some time later, the parties to another trial were summoned to the courtroom, but, as the journalist recorded, this time not for a hearing, but for a private conversation. As soon as the journalist reappeared in the courtroom, the "private" conversation was immediately interrupted by more angry shouts from Judge Nikitina, and the new hearing was also adjourned.
Why Judge Svetlana Nikitina is categorically opposed to videotaping the hearing remains a mystery. Perhaps she has something to hide, as honest officials are not afraid of videotaping and allow it, as has been repeatedly proven by journalists from various Odessa publications.
It's also worth recalling Judge Nikitina's words, according to which the video recording of her hearings is being used, literally, "in a dirty way," though she didn't specify how. The journalist who filmed the video stated that he had no intention of using the recording in any "dirty way"; he merely wanted to verify that the judge was respecting his right to freely film an open court hearing.
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